Sumpter Planners send amendment to Board on Roller Rink permit

At its regular meeting May 14, the Sumpter Township Planning Commission approved an amendment to the special exception use permit for the Sumpter Roller Rink, 19750 Sumpter Road.
After many sessions spent on deciding what to do about the rink, the board voted unanimously to amend the permit to read there will be no promoted parties, activities would end by 1 a.m., and no alcoholic beverages would be served, all items owner Bewey Horn had agreed to at other sessions.
In addition there is a clarification based on Carlisle Wortman planning consultant statement that under the special land use part of the ordinance any event requiring an entry fee and is open to the public would require a special events permit.
The commission approved the amendment and will send it on to the township board for final action. The owners of the Sumpter Roller Rink were not present at the meeting.
The meeting had started at 7 p.m. and the vote was under way at about 7:10, when Ashlee Rudnick of Howell walked in and announced she was the lawyer representing the Roller Skate Park. She suggested a private meeting with the planning commission.
The commission finished its vote and then told her what they had approved.
“It sounds like my clients would be amicable,” Rudnick said, adding the commission is invited to meet with her and her clients at any time.
Township attorney Rob Young took her aside and explained that the recommendation will be going to the township board for final action.
After a stabbing last Halloween when a university fraternity rented the roller rink, the Sumpter Police asked the township board to look into limiting certain leases of the rink to promote public safety.
The board turned the issue over to the planning commission for review and recommendation since the commission had worked out the details of a special exception use permit about a year ago to allow the rink to survive by leasing the building out for birthday parties, showers, wedding parties and the like.
At the May 14 meeting, planning consultant Laura Kreps also gave an update on her work on the Sumpter Master Plan. She explained that under Michigan law the plan must be reviewed every five years.
She said she has planned a survey on the website and can get hard copies to distribute to the community for input on what residents would like to see in their community. She said the survey can be under way while she is working on the update.
Commissioner Sharon Claxton said last time they had a Master Plan update, they had a meeting at the PNA Hall and it was pretty packed. That was before Carlisle Wortman became the township’s planner.
Kreps said they have to do a public hearing and they could have stations so people interested in certain aspects of the Master Plan could go to that station and get information and give opinions.
Kreps said the six-page survey would be by Survey Monkey because that online process is so easy to do and has ways to pull up and use the information gathered. The recent library survey for the tri-community was by Survey Monkey.
The only commissioner absent from the meeting was Joy Cichewicz, who had written the library survey put on Survey Monkey.